Together We Overcome
by Izumi's Apprentice
Summary: Gen's thirteen years old. A little thunder and lightning shouldn't spook her, right? Right? Shoot.


Disclaimer: I do not own POI.

Author's Notes: First foray into POI fanfiction, though my first written piece is part of a little series I'm working on, but this is the first published fic. I felt there weren't enough Shoot plus Gen fics in my searches of AO3 and since I love writing kids I had to try my hand. This may become a series of sorts.

Together We Overcome

It was dark in her room. Luckily it was only a slightly unfamiliar room, one she didn't often frequent but enough common objects for her to realize she was in a safe space. It was only when the room lit up that she felt her heart leap into her throat and choke her air supply as surely as any adult hand around her neck. She gulped around the knot and clutched the blanket tighter around her shoulders, trying hard as she might to block out the rest of the world and stumble back into a somewhat peaceful if not interesting dream of espionage and exhilarating firefights. However, her attempts were in vain as the room was blasted in seemingly white light again and she yelped, wincing in the process. Shaking her head and climbing out of bed, she figured it was time to bite the bullet and ask for help. Supergirl said that it was a sign of strength to ask for help, that no man was his own man, and right now she would really appreciate the assistance, the support and comfort she knew could be given if only she made that move. So she moved out of her room and down the hall to the master bedroom.

"Shaw?"

Silence.

"Shaw?" she asked again, staying firmly in the doorway for fear of intruding, a mark of respect in the back of her mind as well in maintaining boundaries.

"Yeah?" came the grumble from under a blanket and arm curled around a dark hair framed face.

"Remember when you saved me from HR in Vadim's building?"

"Mmhm."

She bit her lip in nervousness, afraid how this encounter may go. Fear was a sign of weakness for Shaw right? "How I kept jumping during the gunfire?"

"Gen..." Shaw sighed. "It's late, I need to sleep. Just get to the point."

Unlike Gen's room, Shaw's windows had their curtains pulled completely back and so when the lightning struck some distance away and lit up the entire room without the veil of cloth material, Gen's yelp was louder but she could also see that tonight Shaw had a companion sleeping over. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt for a few moments, head bowed down in shame. She wasn't expecting the next words however.

"Aww, sweetie, come here."

Gen looked up, eyes wide as they stared back at Root's mostly lucid ones. She smiled shyly and looked at Shaw for confirmation. Shaw grumbled something under her breath but rolled over on to her back and motioned Gen over with a lazy wave of her hand. Gen's smile widened and she came to the end of their bed, climbing up between the two women and curled under the covers Root held open.

"Scared of the storm a little?" Root asked sympathetically. Gen only nodded her head. "It's okay. I was never really a fan of them either. It was the only thing we really ever had to deal with in Texas growing up. And let me tell you, watching a storm come in at the edge of town across flat planes is spooky," she explained in a soft voice, resting on her left arm to face Gen properly.

"Sand storm's spookier," Shaw commented before yawning, a hand rubbing at her eyes as she also turned to face their new bed mate. She was silently grateful it was getting chillier in New York, causing her and Root to redress after their earlier physical activities. "But a little rain storm never hurt many people, right Root?" she asked, hoping this was a good course of action in soothing Gen. She threw the question in Root's direction, knowing she had quicker access to a statistic on rain and or lightning related incidents as proof to back up her comment.

"It's true," Root said simply, a smile on her face until her head tilted and she got that faraway look indicating The Machine was feeding her information. Gen didn't quite yet know the specifics of their jobs but she knew enough to not be worried when Root looked or said something funny. "Though rain is a more deadly road hazard than snow and ice in more than 30 states, recklessness and drunk driving are still higher causes of car accidents. In the past ten years only three hundred and five people have died due to lightning related incidents in the U.S."

"See," Shaw said as though it were as simple as statistics. She yawned again and curled her arm under the pillow. Gen glanced at Shaw.

"Shouldn't we close the curtains though? Just in case lightning does strike and jumps through the windows?" she asked in a tiny voice, nerves clearly still frayed from the louder than usual thunder when she first approached the bedroom.

Shaw's dark eyes opened and she stared at Gen, but it was too dark for Gen to tell if the woman was studying her or glaring and she feared the latter. Shaw sighed after several moments, throwing the blanket from her body and getting out of the bed to pull the curtains of her two windows closed before moving back. "Anything else while I'm up, princess?" she asked, unable to resist the urge to snark.

"Sameen," Root admonished.

"Anything?" Shaw asked more calmly.

"No, no thanks," Gen mumbled, burying her face in the pillow she had acquired, body closer to Root than to Shaw's side now. Shaw ran a hand through her mussed hair, the sense she had said the wrong thing creeping into her mind, but unsure how to fix the situation she merely got back into the bed. Before she got completely comfortable though, her hand hovered over Gen's head and almost second guessing herself, she reached out and stroked the messy blonde curls, seeing the contented sigh more than hearing it from the girl. A slight smile lit her face and she continued with the motion that her maman once used for her sleepless nights.

Soon Gen had slipped back into a seemingly dreamless slumber, one of which wasn't plagued by the continuing onslaught of rain outside and the occasional splashes of thunder and lightning. Shaw found herself relieved the incident was over and Gen appeared restful. Root adjusted herself to smile over Gen's head at Shaw. "You're good with her," she commented quietly.

Shaw shook her head. "Not as good as you."

"Together it works, though," Root said firmly.

"Yeah...together."


End file.
